AMARILLO, Texas — Reagan Dockery, 13, of Creswell was recently selected as a participant for the 2024 Ranching Heritage Young Horse Development Program on behalf of the The American Quarter Horse Association.
Dockery, an 8th grader at Pleasant Hill Middle, is the only child from Oregon selected this year.
The program showcases the horses bred and raised by AQHA members by matching weanlings with other members. Dockery received the 2023, black, filly American Quarter Horse, “Given The Chance,” from AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeder Brackett Livestock of Rogerson, Idaho.
The program was created in 2011 to give AQHYA members an opportunity to learn the fundamentals of horsemanship. The horses used in the program were bred by AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeders, which are working cattle ranches with a remuda of at least five AQHA-registered mares that produce ranch horses. The participating Ranching Heritage Breeders donated weanlings for the program participants to evaluate, raise and train. Youth selected for the program may participate by receiving a donated Ranching Heritage Bred weanling or by purchasing a weanling from an AQHA Ranching Heritage Breeder.
The program grants Dockery a hands-on horse training opportunity, focusing on the fundamentals of horsemanship in addition to a unique opportunity to work with Ranching Heritage Breeders and AQHA Professional Horsemen.
The program will conclude Sept, 1. Scores calculated and winners will be announced likely in October. Chance is Dockery’s to keep even once it’s over.
